Polycystic disease of the liver is one of the very rare maladies which is found incidentally during surgical exploration of abdomen for other diseases or at postmorten examination.
Also, it is infrequently associated with cyst of kidney, spleen, pancreas or lung, and other anomalies. It is more prevalent in female than male with ratio of 4 : 1. It is usually disocovered in 3rd and 4th decades of life.
There is no specific symptoms or signs referable to this disease alone but produces pressure symptoms and signs by progressively enlarging cyst. The preoperative diagnosis is very difficult but L.F.T., needle biopsies, scans, and aspirations are of little value.
Author had experienced two cases of polycystic disease of the liver at the Department of Surgery, Sacred heart Hospital, Chung-ang University in past 5 years.
One case was a 45 year old male who was found to have polycystic disease of the liver on exploration under preoperative diagnosis of cholecystopathy or liver ,abscess, and the other case was a 52 year old female who was found to have polycystic disease of the liver at laparotomy which was made under properative diagnosis of pseudocyst of the pancreas. Both patients were associated with bilateral polycystic kidney and male patient´s mother deceased with polycystic kidney.
Author presents two cases of polycystic disease of the liver wlich are associated with polycystic kidneys and reviewed literatures briefly.
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